Stanley Spoke Shave

[Andrew Teich]

I purchased the Stanley 12-951 Spoke Shave for cheap when our Sears Hardware was closing about a year ago. I have just now had a project idea that involved its use. I took the blade out to sharpen it before it's first use.
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I have been lapping the back for some time on various abrasives, and the shiny spot in the middle has still not contacted the abrasive. I used 46 and 80 grit emery on plate glass and then took it to my 800 grit King Waterstone. This bent blade was not what I expected. I figured the blade would at least be decent as it was stamped "Stanley Made in England." The packaging said it was made in Mexico so I figured the casting would be a bit rough and might need some attention to make it work nicely. Tonight I was attempting to reassemble it to put it away as I don't have time to mess with it tomorrow and realized that the mouth is angled in such a way that the blade will not fit through the opening unless it is pushed up and away from the bedding area.
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I think you'll be able to tell from the poor cell phone photo that the blade is wider that the rear of the mouth opening. It is about even with the opening on the left and then way past the opening on the right. I am thinking that the bent blade came from the Mexican factory worker jamming the blade in there, where it couldn't seat properly on the bed and then cranking away on the tightening screw which caused the bent blade.

Moral of the story... Tool Shaped Object. I may try to spend some careful time with a file on the mouth. If I can get that wide enough then I'll just use the ruler trick on the blade back and then see how it goes. Hopefully this could at least be a rough use tool. I may as well try to use what I have on hand since the finances won't support my order list from LV or LN (which now includes a spoke shave) for some time.

[Jim Koepke]

I am thinking that the bent blade came from the Mexican factory worker jamming the blade in there, where it couldn't seat properly on the bed and then cranking away on the tightening screw which caused the bent blade.

Maybe a metric mouth is trying to hold an old inch blade?

I have a Stanley spokeshave that has a minor bedding problem. Minor enough that I have decided to just give it a few swipes with a file every time the blade is sharpened. It just keeps getting better.

Yours may be correctable with some filing. You may also be able to take a little of the sides of the blade just be careful how you hold it if you do.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

I think the ruler trick will work, but chatter can still take place

I recall an article on tuning a Stanley spoke shave. It involved bedding the blade in the handle using epoxy and then leveling the epoxy.
This was to prevent chatter.

I think there are replacement blades available as well.

I have two Stanley spokeshaves I never use. I use my Vertas spokeshave instead.

[Paul Saffold]

Fine Woodworking #158 has the article by Brian Boggs. This link will get you the page but I don't know if you need to be a digital subscriber or not to view it.http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2803 Worth a try.

I tuned my Record 151 spokeshave up following his recommendations and it made a really big difference. I did not replace the cap either, but I did buy a Hock blade.http://www.hocktools.com/ Like most things, a bit of practice helps too. Good luck.